THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR | 2,905,611 VISITORS VISIT 8,324,077 TIMES 3 TIMES EVERY DAY IN ONE YEAR. HIGHEST ACTIVITY IN WPCNR HISTORY.White PlainsCitizeNetReporter lifted its worldwide visits from unique visitors to wpcnr.com to 8,324,077,a 1,306,419 increase in visits in one year from 7,017,658 visits to the site last year which covers White Plains and Westchester County. The 8,324,077 visits were made by 2,005,611 unique visitors who visited wpcnr an average of 3 visits a day. ON JULY 20- -2026 visitors have accessed wpcnr and made 3,072 visits an average of 1.6 visits. In the last week 33,495 individual vistors made 54,458 visits, averaging 1.6 visits. In the last month, 152,940 visitors recorded 229,338 visits (1.5 visits)

Cappelli Building “the New 189 Main Street” with a “Structure Permit”: Berg.

Posted on July 19, 2007 by John Bailey

Shroud partially Lifted from Mystery Structure: “The New 189 Main Street”

WPCNR THE DEVELOPER NEWS. By John F. Bailey. July 19, 2007: Earlier this week, WPCNR reported exclusively new construction on the 189 Main Street site. Bruce Berg, Vice President of Cappelli Enterprises, in a statement today cleared up part of what the “Mystery Structure” is and how he is building it. In a statement, Mr. Berg wrote:

John—there is no “Food Court” planned for 189 Main Street.

We are planning a café or retail store with a rooftop seating area.

We do not have a building permit. We applied and obtained a permit to erect the building structure only on the same footprint, which we can do. We have an application in to the Common Council for site plan approval which, if granted would enable us to request a full building permit mostly dealing with facades.

BID to Discuss Results of BID Expansion Opt Out to be Shared with Council Next W

Posted on July 19, 2007 by John Bailey

WPCNR The BID Report. By John F. Bailey. July 19, 2007: Rick Ammirato, the Executive Director of the White Plains Business Improvement District, told WPCNR that the BID has tallied the results of business owners in the West Post Road and South Mamaroneck Avenue and out to Bloomingdale Road who have opted not to join the BID as the organization has proposed.

Rick Ammirato, Executive Director of the BID explaining the expanded BID program to the Common Council in May

Ammirato, speaking to WPCNR from the organization’s new offices at 237 Mamaroneck Avenue Wednesday said he would be sharing those sentiments with the Common Council next Thursday in the Council work session. He indicated that the results were surprising, but the organization has a plan that he felt would be acceptable to all, based on the results. He said he would advise the Council on that plan next Thursday. Ammirato added, as a courtesy to the Common Council he could not share the results before he made his presentation to them.

Ammirato said that the new expanded BID could not be in place until 2008-2009, and the BID was operating on the lower budget submitted, approximately $600,000, rather than the expected $1.6 Million that it would have become had the expanded BID gone into effect this fiscal year.

221 Eligible for $4M in Property Tax Relief as an En-Zone.

Posted on July 19, 2007 by John Bailey

WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE. By John F. Bailey. July 19, 2007: The Ritz Carlton 221 Main project, the recently remediated “Brownfield” (completed in December 2006) stands to be eligible to tap approximately $4 Million maximum in property tax rebates annually beginning in 2009.

As reported earlier this week by WPCNR, Cappelli Enterprises and its partners in 221 Main Street are eligible for the maximum “Remediated Brownfield Credit for Real Property Taxes,” adding to the $110 Million or $75 Million by Mr. Cappelli’s count, tax credits the developer has already been assured for having cleaned up and developed a Brownfield site. Vice President of Cappelli Enterprises, Bruce Berg, (shown above) confirmed to WPCNR today that the 221 Main project expects 400 new employees on the entire site. WPCNR calculates that number of new jobs would earn The Cappelli Team a maximum of $4 Million in property tax relief, depending on how the City assessed the project.

Bruce Berg, Vice President for Cappelli Enterprises, issued a statement to WPCNR today confirming that 221 Main Street (site of the Ritz Carlton Westchester) is located within an En-Zone that entitles the Cappelli Partners as much as $2 Million in property tax rebates, depending on how the City Assessor assesses the Ritz-Carlton property after it is fully occupied.

An En-Zone is an area designated by the New York State Commissioner of Economic Development prior to December 31, 2003. In order to be considered an En Zone, an area must have a poverty rate of at least 20% and an unemployment rate of at least 1-1/4 times the statewide unemployment rate as of the 2000 census.

How the Partners Get Property Tax Credits.

The Property Tax Credit is earned based on the number of new jobs Cappelli Enterprises brings to the former Brownfield area. Mr Berg explained, in his written statement:

We expect to have more than 200 employees on the entire site including the hotel, restaurants, garage operation and condos. We also expect that there will be another several hundred employees in the office portion of the project.

The property tax credit is not $2 Million (200 employees x $10,000 per employee). The tax refund for Brownfield sites with more than 100 (new) employees is 100% of actual taxes paid. The refund is CAPPED however at $10,000 per employee.

WPCNR had originally, based on previous statements by the Mayor of White Plains, conservatively put the property tax rebate maximum at $2 Million, figuring that the site would bring in 150-200 employees. At 400 employees, the Cappelli partners will be eligible for $4 Million maximum in property tax credits, depending on how the City of White Plains assesses the property when fully occupied.

WPCNR points out that the property tax relief is paid to the developer by New York State, and is not refunded by the City of White Plains or the City School District. The city and school district will not lose any property tax revenue when the Cappelli organization applies for the Remediated Brownfield Credit for Real Property Taxes in 2009, as Louis Cappelli has said to WPCNR he plans to do.

Get Your Passports Here. Passport Fair in White Plains July 26

Posted on July 19, 2007 by John Bailey

WPCNR FOR THE RECORD. From U.S. Postal Service. July 19, 2007: White Plains Post Office is hosting a Passport Fair on Thursday, July 28 as a convenience for postal customers to obtain a passport. Postal officials will be on hand to accept passport applications on from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the White Plains Post Office, 100 Fisher Ave., White Plains, NY 10606.

As of January 23, 2007, citizens of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda are required to present a passport to enter or re-enter the United States when arriving by air from any part of the Western Hemisphere. Recently, the U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security announced that U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda who have applied for but have not yet received passports can nevertheless temporarily enter and depart from the United States by air with a government issued photo identification and Department of State official proof of application for a passport through September 30, 2007. The federal government is making this accommodation for air travel due to longer than expected processing times for passport applications in the face of record-breaking demand.

White Plains Postmaster Neal Fitzpatrick explains, “The United States Postal Service can accept both first time passport applicants and passport renewals. With enhanced travel security, passports are the prime accepted identification for travelers. The United States Postal Service in conjunction with the Department of State affords our customers this additional service at a reasonable rate”.

Postmaster Fitzpatrick offers these helpful tips for applying for a passport:

· Fill out the passport application (DS11), before you come to the Post Office. You can download the form from: http://travel.state.gov/passport/forms/forms_847.html

·       Bring proof of US citizenship with you and current photo identification.
·       Postal officials can take the photographs.
·       Have all your documentation with you.

· For minors under 14 years of age, each child must appear in person and both parents or
legal guardians must present evidence of identity.

Information on passport applications, procedures and fees can be obtained on the World Wide Web at www.usps.com. click on the “Gov’t Sevices” link at the bottom of the home page, then click on “Passport Application Information”. Additional postal information is always available from the Postal Service’s toll-free call center at 1-800-ASK-USPS (1-800-275-8777).